Villagers clash with police, leaving Additional SP injured

Villagers in a remote part of the district today clashed with police personnel, after they were asked to disperse from the Allahabad-Jaunpur highway where they were staging a protest.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police Jogendra Kumar, 11 villagers have been arrested in connection with the attack on policemen and cases were being registered against them. Additional SP Ganesh Saha, who had received injury on his forehead, was in a stable condition, he said.
The trouble began this morning when residents of Sherdih village, about 40 kms from the city, squatted on the highway with the body of Gyan Chandra alias Vakeel who was among two persons killed in an attack outside the high-security Naini Central Jail on Sunday.

The villagers were demanding that the father of the deceased, Chandra Bhan, be released on parole to take part in the funeral of his son.
Chandra Bhan is in jail, serving a prison term for a murder case.
The convict was visited by his son and three others at the jail last Sunday.

The four visitors were attacked by unidentified gunmen just outside the prison, who fled the spot after spraying them with bullets.
While two persons were killed, two others received critical injuries and are undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city.
When senior officials, including District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar, the SSP and others reached the spot and urged the villagers to withdraw their agitation and allow the last rites of the deceased to take place, the agitators responded with pelting of stones.

The highway was cleared after an hour of pitched battle between the villagers and policemen during which the latter also fired a few shots in the air.
Meanwhile, police have taken the body into custody and the cremation will be held this evening in presence of close relatives who have decided to relent, the SSP said.